Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

Well I've never actually posted before but have attempted No S several times over the last few months. In between giving up and calorie counting or having shakes. But I always come back to No S as it is such a life friendly diet. I only want to lose about 22lbs would even be happy with about 15lbs.

My first week I've had all green days, even had 2 moderate S days which are Friday and Saturday as those are my 2 most social days. What works best for me on S days is to keep my N day structure but have a treat or two.

Felt like giving up today and binging on sugary treats but stayed strong and had a coffee instead!

B- waffle with yoghurt, berries and banana
L- English muffin with baked beans and an egg and 2 nectarines
T- hotdog in a roll with cheese and onion, coleslaw and cucumber with a glass of wine

Last edited by 3squaremeals on Wed Feb 08, 2017 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

Today was a success. I faced a few obstacles. My friend offered me a donut at her house but I said no thanks. Also had a moment where I felt like giving up and binging tonight after stupidly weighing myself and not liking the number, as well as not liking what I seen in the mirror. Thankfully I talked myself out of the binge and realised it's going to take time to get where I want to be and binging certainly won't help that, and I will end up feeling rubbish.

Thanks noni!
Today was GREEN another successful day, no cravings or down moments to report. Can't wait for my S day tomorrow. Going out for a meal and to see a movie afterwards with a friend. I like to keep my S days as similar to N days as possible and allow for 1 treat. Although I don't stress if it turns into 2 but as a binge eater I can not do a free for all day. Planning on having an icecream coated in chocolate and crushed peanuts at the cinema and maybe a coke.

Today's food
B- peanut butter on toast and a cappuccino
L- roll with roast beef and salad, plus some yoghurt and an apple
T- Burritos and a nectarine 2 glasses of wine

Today wasn't too bad for an S day, more than I would usually have but I don't go out often. Enjoyed my meal and movie out. Was nice not to feel stuffed and guilty after my meal and ice cream. I even left food on my plate at dinner time as the portion was too big even though it was entree size.

B- 2 crumpets with jam, yoghurt and banana
S- 2 mini pikelets
L- meat, salad and cheese roll, 2 nectarines, 3 mini pikelets
S- glass of milk, a few fries and 2 chicken nuggets which was some of kids dinner before I went out as we weren't having tea until late
T- carbonara and garlic bread, 2 glasses of wine
Choc, peanut coated ice cream at the cinema and a small coke

So the last 2 days have been red. Yesterday turned into a binge at lunch time. Something just came over me and I went on a carb binge. Damn PMS! Tonight I had seconds after dinner and some teddy bear cookies. I vow to have a green day tomorrow or I know I will spiral out of control if I let myself have too many red days.

One thing I noticed about my binges is that my binges were no where near as bad as before No S. I was able to end my binge straight after it and have a normal dinner. And tonight after my 2 serves of dinner and cookies I didn't continue eating until I went to bed like I usually would. So there is some progress in amongst the red days.

I'm back after falling off the wagon, trying another diet and failing. I'm always at my lower weight when I'm doing No S so I don't know why I stray from it. I would be better off maintaining my lower weight than dieting then binging and gaining a few kilos. Just want to have a sane relationship with food for life. I'm making other positive changes in my life at the moment too, so what better time to start then now.

Other changes I'm making are walking my son to school some mornings so that I get a 40 min walk in before I start my day.

Spending a lot less time on Facebook and being more productive with my day.

Distancing myself from a clingy friend that causes me anxiety.

I will do a daily check in on my No S eating habits for the first 21 days then switch to one or twice a week

Good luck today! As an American I so enjoy reading about crumpets and tea I think you are sensible to want to maintain a stable weight even if it's higher than you like versus cycling up and down. I think my issue is I go through periods of accepting my weight, and then when I'm trying, I get frustrated when it doesn't move quickly. I want a moderate, simple plan like NoS and I want to drop weight as if I were on 1500 calories. Reminding myself this is for the looooong haul...

I also like to read about foreign foods. For instance, I know that toast and baked beans is not from America, because we would dump a lot of cheese on it...lol

But what are pikelets?

I remember distancing myself from an acquaintance who enlisted me as her "psychologist", spending collective hours on the phone almost everyday, dumping on me problems of her own making. I didn't get up the nerve to shed her until I would formulate these dangerous scenarios concerning my toddler while we were on the phone, just to see if she cared, or would be considerate enough to hang up, so I could tend to said child. Nope. This gave me the bravado I needed to cut her off.

Larkspur wrote:Good luck today! As an American I so enjoy reading about crumpets and tea I think you are sensible to want to maintain a stable weight even if it's higher than you like versus cycling up and down. I think my issue is I go through periods of accepting my weight, and then when I'm trying, I get frustrated when it doesn't move quickly. I want a moderate, simple plan like NoS and I want to drop weight as if I were on 1500 calories. Reminding myself this is for the looooong haul...

Yes definitely I feel more miserable when I am a few kilos heavier. I also do lose weight on No S it is just slower so I get impatient and give up. I need to realise I need to eat like this for life in order to be thin. Not just 2 weeks then stop. I have decided to do No S for a year and see where I end up, and I'm am sure I will be lighter than I would have had I not stuck to No S.
You are certainly right about it being for the long haul!

noni wrote:I also like to read about foreign foods. For instance, I know that toast and baked beans is not from America, because we would dump a lot of cheese on it...lol

But what are pikelets?

I remember distancing myself from an acquaintance who enlisted me as her "psychologist", spending collective hours on the phone almost everyday, dumping on me problems of her own making. I didn't get up the nerve to shed her until I would formulate these dangerous scenarios concerning my toddler while we were on the phone, just to see if she cared, or would be considerate enough to hang up, so I could tend to said child. Nope. This gave me the bravado I needed to cut her off.

Haha well baked beans actually taste really nice with cheese on them but I usually have them without cheese.

Pikelets are mini pancakes, I think you may call them flapjacks?

This friend of mine is really hard to distance myself from as our boys go to school together. She messages me every day too. They want us to come camping with them over Easter and I stupidly said yes. But now we really don't want to come as we have a toddler and we are camping near the water. Will just have to tell her I guess. I'm just a person who backs down from strong willed people like her easily, as she will get grumpy with me for not going camping, which is why I said yes in the first place.

It sounds like you did the right thing distancing yourself from that friend. It can certainly be exhausting when friends burden you with all their issues.

So yesterday was my first day back on No S and it happened to fall on an S day. I went a little overboard with the cupcakes but I gave the rest away so they aren't tempting me on my first N day today. Was thinking of skipping yesterday as an S day an just make it an N day, but that would have been silly as I would have had to have 6 N days before my next S day.

You know what? You were right, it was an S day. Your S day eating will change over time. Have you planned what you're going to eat for your three meals on Monday? (actually, it's probably Monday already where you are!)

3squaremeals wrote:So yesterday was my first day back on No S and it happened to fall on an S day. I went a little overboard with the cupcakes but I gave the rest away so they aren't tempting me on my first N day today. Was thinking of skipping yesterday as an S day an just make it an N day, but that would have been silly as I would have had to have 6 N days before my next S day.

As long as it didn't affect you mentally, and you still feel strong on the plan, just leave it and stay on schedule or else you may feel off kilter next S day.

Another green day. Going out to a birthday dinner tomorrow night. Am glad I can choose what I want off the menu and don't have to have a salad. I'm a carb girl, love my carbs. Will probably get a burger and fries as that is one of the cheaper things on the menu and we are on a budget. Will be saying no to the birthday cake though.

Today's food

B- Marmite on toast and vanilla yoghurt with raspberries
L-grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and an apple
T- burritos

Down 5.5lbs in 6 days so far. It is mostly water weight from my binge the week before starting back on No S but still happy with a loss. I like my weigh in days to be Friday as it is the morning of my first S day so I'm not carrying all the extra bloat straight after my S days.

My S day was fairly tame today. No loss of control, no binging. I even threw away half of my milk duds because they didn't taste as nice as I remember them tasting years ago. I brought them from a store we have here that imports American candy, wish I had opted for the peanut butter m&ms instead but there is always next week or tomorrow.

I have planned what I want tomorrow for my treat, it will be a creme egg mc flurry. Can't wait to enjoy it guilt free.

3squaremeals wrote:Another green day. Going out to a birthday dinner tomorrow night. Am glad I can choose what I want off the menu and don't have to have a salad. I'm a carb girl, love my carbs. Will probably get a burger and fries as that is one of the cheaper things on the menu and we are on a budget. Will be saying no to the birthday cake though.

Today's food

B- Marmite on toast and vanilla yoghurt with raspberries
L-grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and an apple
T- burritos

Today has been another tame S day for me. Will be glad to get back to an N day tomorrow. I actually felt really tired and lethargic after my McFlurry ice cream today, nearly fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon. Shows how much better having no sweets during the week makes me feel.

Would like to start exercising more, I usually go to the gym a few days a week to classes I really enjoy but unfortunately due to having sclerotherapy done on my leg I have to keep exercise to only walking for the next 3 weeks. But I definitely should be trying to walk more

I can't prove my aversion to using the scale is the right thing to do. I just know I hate the emphasis on weight loss rather than on improved delight in eating and function, unless the person really has health issues that requires weight loss. But even that usually means the person will be rewarded with feeling better from functioning better from changing eating patterns, not the weight loss itself. (I suspect there's even some good feelings from burning fat.)

People claim that you can get to the point at which "it's just a number, just information" but I think it's very rare to have anyone who can truthfully say they have NO negative reaction to a higher weight, that there is not the least sense of "uh oh." There's almost always some kind of justification or what I call "mental gymnastics." They have to convince themselves it's okay or temporary, it's the Chinese food or the salty potato chips or whatever, that it doesn't mean they are bad at least, most women do. And that they are somehow better when the weight is lower. It's so ingrained it probably sounds like, what's wrong with that? But I can't get over thinking in terms of real self respect, it's a red herring.

I've been looking at some of the writing on chronic calorie restriction (CCR) for longevity-actually for continued mental capacity and avoiding age-related disease, since the lifespan isn't necessarily extended but good health is- and one thing I've noticed is that though people lose weight and become pretty thin, there's very little talk of TARGETING a lower weight. The researches say "reduce energy intake," not "lose weight." Nor do they talk about having weight loss goals. They look at function. It's the lessened processing of food that is considered to be the advantage. And nobody seems to make any correlation between it and self-worth.

I'm not advocating CCR! Most of us will get a ton of benefits just by dropping to moderation.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

oolala53 wrote:I can't prove my aversion to using the scale is the right thing to do. I just know I hate the emphasis on weight loss rather than on improved delight in eating and function, unless the person really has health issues that requires weight loss. But even that usually means the person will be rewarded with feeling better from functioning better from changing eating patterns, not the weight loss itself. (I suspect there's even some good feelings from burning fat.)

People claim that you can get to the point at which "it's just a number, just information" but I think it's very rare to have anyone who can truthfully say they have NO negative reaction to a higher weight, that there is not the least sense of "uh oh." There's almost always some kind of justification or what I call "mental gymnastics." They have to convince themselves it's okay or temporary, it's the Chinese food or the salty potato chips or whatever, that it doesn't mean they are bad at least, most women do. And that they are somehow better when the weight is lower. It's so ingrained it probably sounds like, what's wrong with that? But I can't get over thinking in terms of real self respect, it's a red herring.

I've been looking at some of the writing on chronic calorie restriction (CCR) for longevity-actually for continued mental capacity and avoiding age-related disease, since the lifespan isn't necessarily extended but good health is- and one thing I've noticed is that though people lose weight and become pretty thin, there's very little talk of TARGETING a lower weight. The researches say "reduce energy intake," not "lose weight." Nor do they talk about having weight loss goals. They look at function. It's the lessened processing of food that is considered to be the advantage. And nobody seems to make any correlation between it and self-worth.

I'm not advocating CCR! Most of us will get a ton of benefits just by dropping to moderation.

I have to agree with you about scales. If I could I would never step foot on the scales again. They cause me so much stress and cause me to have bad days. That is why I am going to take steps to reduce my scale useage to once a month and then gradually increase the time I spend without weighing. Once I reach my weight that No S takes me to then I will mostly just use my jeans and habitcal as an indicator as to how well I am doing with No S. I would love to break free from my obsession with the scales.

Another green day under my belt and a 30 min walk too. I always feel so much better after a walk and catch up with my friend. Doesn't feel like exercise at all.

B- oatmeal with apple, cinnamon and a tsp of brown sugar. I don't know what it is with oatmeal but it never keeps me full for long. Some people find it keeps them full for hours but cereal never does keep me full. Tasted delicious though.
L- bacon and egg roll, yoghurt and berries
T- meatballs and pasta with pepper, zuchinni, cherry tomatoes and broccoli

Really looking forward to my S days this week. Not sure what i will have just yet. There will definitely be some chocolate in there though!

Another green day today and am going for a walk later. Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks of green days. I think that is my longest streak on No S, I usually last about 10 days before I give up as the weight loss is too slow but since I'm not weighing myself I'm finding it easier to stick to. I'm loving how relaxed I'm feeling around food, and I haven't had any urges to binge so far. I can definitely see myself in this for the long haul and I'm excited.

I managed to fit into some jeans today that I couldn't comfortably do up before No S.

B- English muffin with peanut butter and yoghurt with raspberries
L- leftover meatballs with penne pasta and an apple
T- chicken burger, chips (fries) and a few bits of popcorn chicken with 1 nugget

Larkspur, the protein thing might be part of it. I know there is big emphasis on eating high nutrient foods, meaning a ton of vegetables and fruit, as well as other food groups. They don't believe in just eating fewer calories and being thin. There is no advantage to eating less and being undernourished. Or eating more and being undernourished!

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

3squaremeals wrote:Another green day today and am going for a walk later. Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks of green days. I think that is my longest streak on No S, I usually last about 10 days before I give up as the weight loss is too slow but since I'm not weighing myself I'm finding it easier to stick to. I'm loving how relaxed I'm feeling around food, and I haven't had any urges to binge so far. I can definitely see myself in this for the long haul and I'm excited.

I managed to fit into some jeans today that I couldn't comfortably do up before No S.

B- English muffin with peanut butter and yoghurt with raspberries
L- leftover meatballs with penne pasta and an apple
T- chicken burger, chips (fries) and a few bits of popcorn chicken with 1 nugget

I reported the same thing last summer, which pleased me more than a scale thing. Good Job!

Thank you. Another green day today, which wasn't without its challenges. After I did my grocery shopping I had a stronger urge to binge on some items I had purchased. However I had a cup of tea and told myself tomorrow is an S day so I can just wait. Am hoping tomorrow will be a tame S day considering how much I'm looking forward to it after today.

Am feeling annoyed with myself for allowing my clingy friend to make me feel bad for distancing myself from her. She messaged me and confronted me on not messaging her much any more, which I have purposely done as I'm trying to distance myself from her, as she is very overbearing and intimidating. Of course I apologised and said I would make more of an effort. I wish I didn't back down so easily and try to please everyone. Think the stress from this may have also contributed to me wanting to binge.

Larkspur, your intimidating friend reminds me of a woman (not the one I spoke about, previously) who had recently moved around the corner from me (this was years ago). I would walk everyday with my preschool children past her house, my usual trek. I saw her planting flowers one day, and commented on how pretty they were. From that time on, and for only a couple of weeks, began a 'whirlwind friendship' of her making. I met her husband and family and she had all these plans for us, places she would take me. She was domineering and pushy, and worse yet, she cussed like a sailor, and in front of my kids. Then she was at my door one day when I was out, and later called me and accused me of purposely not answering it (hmmm...makes me think this was the norm for her). I then got an idea (from God?) to invite her to my ladies Bible study. She begged off, but I became the aggressor, and told her I really wanted her to come. She resisted, and we hung up friendly-like. But never heard from her again. If fact, as I was taking a walk a couple weeks later (needless to say, I changed my walking path), she was in her car at a stop sign. I waved, and she turned her head around to avoid me. I hoped she didn't wrench her neck!

Your friend sounded rather interesting haha. Glad you were able to get rid of her, I wish it was as easy for me. I think it would be a lot easier if our boys weren't in the same grade at school, then I could just cut all ties with her. My partner warned me at the start of our friendship not to catch up with her every time she asked as he could see she was the domineering, pushy and clingy type. I guess I was just wrapped up in the whirlwind friendship as I'm not one to make friends easily as I'm quite shy.

I'm just worried now as it is the school holidays over here and usually she nearly wants to see me everyday in the school holidays. Will just have to think of a list of excuses to use over that time. I just don't feel the need to see her everyday as I have nothing new to talk about, especially when she messages me all the time on Facebook.

Maybe I just need to be honest with her and explain that I'm not the type of person who needs to speak with friends everyday. Although she expects it from me as that was I have done for the last year and a half.

Today was a much looked forward to S day but was suprisingly disappointing in the fact that I have felt so yuck from the sugar, and I haven't enjoyed my meals as much as usual because I wasn't hungry for them. Tomorrow I think I will just have my peanut butter m&ms after dinner so I don't feel full and rubbish all day.

I felt today was a reasonably tame S day and much less than a binge would normally be.

3square, that's the magic of S days. Nothing will help a person cut down on S's like having them not be as fun or having them ruin meals, IMHO. Sometimes it takes awhile to get clear that they just don't give like they used to. I think it's because we actually miss the fun that we can't count on. But the cat is out of the bag.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Haha Larkspur yes Marmite is very strange to people who haven't grown up eating it. The key is to spread it very thinly if you ever try it as it has a very strong taste. I love it though. Crumpets are usually eaten with sweet spreads such as honey or jam which I think you call jelly but I prefer them savoury.

Thanks, yes Oolala I am certainly looking forward to the natural progression to less esses on S days. I like that the decision will come from feeling rubbish from eating it, not because I'm not allowed it. The more I'm not allowed it the more desirable it becomes!

Looking forward to getting back to an N day tomorrow. I'm finding it suprisingly easy not to weigh myself. I'm hoping not to weigh myself until the weekend before Easter. That way I would have been on No S about a month.

Oolala the pumpkin pasta salad is mixed with basil pesto which is blended cashews, basil olive oil and Parmesan, then I just roasted cubes of pumpkin and mixed them through the pasta with some crumbled feta. It's really yummy. The sweetness of the pumpkin with the salty pesto and feta goes well together.

Thanks it is nice having visitors stay, the boys are excited to have some new people here.

I don't really miss New Zealand I prefer living in Australia but I miss my mum, dad, brother and sister.

Since starting No S I have honestly felt so much happier. I'm not writing meal plans out all the time, I don't have to stress that we have visitors staying and I can't eat my 'diet food' I can actually cook a good hearty meal and enjoy it. I really look forward to my meals and enjoy the non bloated feeling of N days. I'm enjoying not worrying about what a silly scale says. I actually feel like I'm losing weight this way and can't wait to find out where No S takes my body shape, as my body has never known what normal moderate eating is because I have either dieted or binged since my teenage years.

Since starting No S I have honestly felt so much happier. I'm not writing meal plans out all the time, I don't have to stress that we have visitors staying and I can't eat my 'diet food' I can actually cook a good hearty meal and enjoy it. I really look forward to my meals and enjoy the non bloated feeling of N days. I'm enjoying not worrying about what a silly scale says. I actually feel like I'm losing weight this way and can't wait to find out where No S takes my body shape, as my body has never known what normal moderate eating is because I have either dieted or binged since my teenage years.

So glad you are enjoying new habits and their results! Keep on keeping on .

Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

Another green day. No s is so easy for me to stick to I am loving it. I barely get hunger pangs now. My body knows when to expect meals and I only get hungry within an hour or so of expecting my meal. My meal times are currently 7.30 12/1 and 5.30/7 We have been having slightly later tea times with our guests being here normally I have tea at 5.30 but it has been around 7 lately.

I sent a few photos to my mum of me in a few different outfits to help me choose something to wear on Saturday night, and she mentioned how skinny I'm looking so that made me happy. I can feel that I've lost weight too and I have gone down a size in tops when buying one today.

You are ahead of the game when you're happy about being hungry about an hour before meals. Relishing hunger is a big plus, I think. (I never understand people saying they like some diet because they are never hungry. Then why eat?)

To have joy around food is such a gift! It's really even better than the weight loss, even though we get strokes from others. Compliments would be a lousy reward if you had to suffer most of the time to get them.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Yes oolala I have certainly surprised myself with the fact I am enjoying being hungry before meals, and am enjoying my food so much more as there is no food guilt, I'm getting to enjoy meals that I previously would have avoided.

I do have to agree that starving to get compliments is no fun at all, I'm enjoying my food and getting compliments which is very enjoyable.

Another green day. Yay I made it to my S day tomorrow! Was a very stressful day today so I'm glad I didn't turn to food for a pick me up. Just had wine instead

B- crumpets with Marmite and yoghurt with raspberries
L- spicy noodles with stir fried pak choy and carrot with a fried egg on top and grapes
T- Chinese style beef stir fry with rice and some tomato, egg and spring onion type side dish and 2 glasses of wine

S day today, took my boys to see a movie since it is the school holidays.
B- crumpets with Marmite and yoghurt with raspberries
S- 2 small handfuls of choc coated tiny teddies
S- mini tub of Pringles and malteasers at the movies
Late lunch- baked potato topped with diced ham and grated cheese + 3 crackers
D- Korean BBQ style pork wrapped in lettuce leaves and rice + pork in a spicy sauce and kimchi. Was a meal where you are picking at lots of different things. Felt like I ate alot but I don't feel full. I felt quite hungry tonight. Plus was really hungry when I woke up for some reason.

Tomorrow we are going out for dinner, not sure what we are getting as I think it will be a set menu

It occasionally happens to me that I finish a perfectly good meal and feel like I've had almost nothing. In the old days, I would have picked at this and that and gotten too full. Now, I just call it an appetite illusion and wait it out. Even if for some reason the body needs more, I have reserves.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

I find that I rarely wake up hungry after ignoring food thoughts. I will sometimes promise myself that I'll have a big breakfast if I just hold out, but never want the big breakfast the next day. But it still works each time because I give myself permission to have it IF I wake up starved. Hasn't happened yet.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Well yesterday was a fairly wild S day. Wasn't intended to be that way until I had too many wines which would have been a lot of calories itself but then I ate 2 sliders and a sugar coated jam donut later in the night plus there was dessert served too.
I'm not too worried by this though as we went out with my Husband's work and I very rarely ever get to go out as the price of paying a baby sitter to look after 3 kids is crazy here and we don't have family around.
I feel pretty blah today from all that food yesterday

B- crumpets with Marmite and yoghurt with raspberries
L- spicy noodles with pork, egg and stir fried veg
S- custard filled donut and a small Easter egg (would not have had these if I knew how much food would be available that night.
T- roast meat, potato veg and gravy with 2 bread rolls and butter
Dessert- jam and white chocolate sponge cake
Lots of wine, 2 sliders and a jam donut. I felt so sick after eating all that food, my stomach was not used to that at all

It felt good to be back into my N day routine today, although wasn't feeling great after all that wine

B- sausage and egg mc muffin and hashbrown
L- chicken, salad and cheese wrap, yoghurt and raspberries
T- Homemade egg and ham fried rice
Also had a bottle of sugar free Powerade today, not something I normally drink but needed it to help rehydrate after all the alcohol.

Felt a bit hungry after dinner but think that is due to stretching my stomach so much yesterday, hopefully my hunger goes back to normal in a few days

I pretty much have the same breakfast everyday and am still not sick of it. I know it keeps me full and I really enjoy it. Also still really enjoying No S, it is so amazing to not be obsessed with food and be able to get straight back on track after S days. Think I will weigh in on Friday morning, will be happy if I have maintained especially after my wild S day over the weekend

I find myself wanting to try Marmite! I wonder if I can get it at Wegman's. My daughter is coming home from England on Wednesday, I wonder if they would let her bring a jar through customs.... Planning to visit in June, I can just wait until then!

Larkspur you will either love it or hate it. If you do have it put lots of butter on your toast or crumpets and spread the Marmite very thinly so you can still see most of the surface of the toast or it will be too strong. I think Marmite from England is different in taste to the one in Australia and New Zealand. Our one has a red lid and label and yellow writing on it.

Another green day. So proud of myself as it is 2 more days and I have been doing No S for 4 weeks and no red days! I am converted to No S for life, I wish I had known about it years ago, although I was still in the must lose weight fast mentality that I honestly don't think I would have stuck to it. This time I am so sick of dieting and am not worried about how fast I lose the weight. I also just feel like I am in the right headspace this time around. But I am still only in my first month so am just taking it one day at a time.

This month I have 2 extra S days. One being my birthday coming up and the other being Easter Sunday as I take my S days on Fri and Sat. I'm wondering if maybe I should just have my S days on Fri and Sun instead, or just stick with the usual S days and add the extra one on Sunday.

3squaremeals wrote:This month I have 2 extra S days. One being my birthday coming up and the other being Easter Sunday as I take my S days on Fri and Sat. I'm wondering if maybe I should just have my S days on Fri and Sun instead, or just stick with the usual S days and add the extra one on Sunday.

You're doing fantastic.

I'd take the extra S day, meeself. It's a legitimate holiday.

------
My blog http://noelfigart.com/blog/ I talk about being a freelance writer, working out and cooking mostly. The language is not always drawing room fashion. Just sayin'.

Thank you. Exactly i certainly won't be eating all day long for 3 days straight but I'm sure on Sunday there will be a decent amount of chocolate consumed. I'm excited as normally at Easter time I don't buy myself anything and then end up binging on the kids leftover chocolate and going and buying more anyway. This year I look forward to enjoying my chocolate bunny guilt free! Same with hot cross buns

Really struggling today having all this Easter chocolate and hot cross buns in the house after doing my shopping today. I am trying to justify swapping an S day to today but I know it is a bad idea. Just have to hold out until tomorrow morning when I can have a hot cross bun for breakfast!

I hope you managed to see the day through 3squaremeals. Easter can be such a crazy time. A hot cross bun for breakfast sounds lovely, an Easter treat as one of your meals instead of in addition to a meal, I think that's a great plan.

Today I certainly ate too much chocolate but I'm not worried I really enjoyed being able to eat chocolate guilt free for the first Easter since I was a kid. Although I feel ill from eating too much today.

I have decided not to take Sunday as an S day. I certainly don't need an extra day to be eating lots of chocolate and we don't celebrate religiously or anything. Will just stick to my regular S days of Friday (today) and Saturday.

Another day with too much chocolate, maybe next year I will be less wild at Easter time. At this stage I'm not too bothered and am enjoying all this chocolate, but not the way it makes me feel. I am looking forward to having an N day tomorrow.

Well I think I am going to have to mark today as red and move on. I know it is officially an S day being Easter Sunday but I planned on not taking it but ate some of my kids chocolate this morning. I now feel rather ill.

Also I am thinking I might limit myself to one or 2 esses on S days as if I have any more than that I feel sick and it spoils my meals. I just can't seem to tolerate eating between meals like I used to, it makes me feel overfull and sick. I will trial it next weekend and see how I go.

Also I am considering changing up my breakfast as I am officially sick of it after a month. Might switch it to an English muffin with an egg, piece of bacon and cheese and fruit. I can't do oatmeal or cereal it doesn't keep me full.

Reinhard wrote in the book that eventually, a person may or may not have any S's on S days. He doesn't say this but to me it always implied that the S day is just a day you COULD have an S, so it's still an S day even if you don't have any. It is not meant to have all S's every S day. That's just a phase. N days help show the contrast. It makes perfect sense that N days have helped you see that snacks can detract from the enjoyment of the next meal.

Although I'm more likely to snack a bit more and skip a later meal on one weekend day. If my social pattern changes, that could change.

You are right on track!

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Thanks oolala. One S day recently I just ate chocolate because it was an S day and I could. I think I need to be more mindful that I don't have to eat any esses on S days. Although I will definitely have something within the 2 days to keep me going through the week. But I will make sure it is something I really want and will enjoy. I'm not big on snacks or seconds, it's more the sweets that I enjoy!

I am feeling rather guilty and rubbish after this whole weekend of eating far too much chocolate but I will just put it behind me and move on and work on having all green days this week and tame S days next weekend. It is amazing how awful you feel when you eat badly, it is only 7.50pm here and I'm tired enough for bed. Normally I'm awake until 11pm most nights.

You are learning exactly what the plan offers. When you make the choice to eat less of anything because you want to avoid feeling cruddy, rather than just for weight loss, it's a lot less risky. You see that it's not the same kind of deprivation because you get the payoff that day whether there are changes on the scale or not. No matter how much a person loses, if she doesn't feel physically better, she's not going to sustain the habits that netted the loss.

On to delicious meals and life in between!

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Today was a tough one after spending 3 days consuming too much sugar my cravings were strong but I made it through the day without touching my kids Easter chocolate so I am certainly proud of myself. I needed to get right back on track today or I knew I would start going into a downward spiral of eating rubbish and gaining weight. It was really nice to feel hungry for my meals and enjoy them.

B- English muffin with bacon, egg and a cheese slice
L- noodle omlette with creamed corn on top and a pear
T- Korean beef on rice and stir fried cabbage and carrot + a glass of wine

My plate was a little bigger than usual at dinner time but I'm not worried as I stayed on habit

Last Green Day for the week completed. I have another 3 S day weekend due to it being my birthday. I vow not to go crazy on all of those days. I am meeting up with a friend for afternoon tea tomorrow so will get some sort of baked item. Then we are Celebrating my birthday Saturday as my proper birthday is on Sunday but my partner is working 13 hours. So Saturday will be birthday dinner most likely pizza and cake. Then Sunday my partner is bringing me home some lemon meringue pie after work from our favourite dessert place. So hopefully that will be the only esses I will be consuming.

My S day didn't quite go as planned but it wasn't crazy like last weekend and I am still fairly new. I am about a month in so I am not going to stress about S days just yet, as I am on habit during the week which is the main thing at this stage.

B- peanut butter on an English muffin and a banana
L- leftover lasagna and an orange
T- spicy fried rice
S day treats- banana cuocake, piece of Rocky road and some Ferrero Rocher Easter eggs, handful of choc chips. Was spread out throughout the day so I didn't feel sick from it all. Ended up going out for morning tea and afternoon tea

I have been stepping on the scales a bit lately which has been fine as I wanted to watch my weight over a week. It was interesting to see that I gained 5lbs over that weekend of 2 wild S days and the red day. But over the course of the week I lost 4.5 of the 5lbs just from staying on habit with my 4 S days. So it is good to know I can at least maintain or gain very little even with wild S days and no exercise. I can officially exercise again after tomorrow after having over a month off at the gym. So am looking forward to getting back into it again, more so once this annoying compression stocking is off on Thursday.

When I weighed (every day and averaged once a week), I saw that same pattern. Wansink has seen it in much bigger numbers. Gotta be mostly water, as fat stores cannot shift that much in such a short time.

Here's wishing you a nice green Friday and lovely weekend.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Actually, since the body is mostly water, it's no surprise it's where most of the fluctuations come from. It's also integral to storing sugar; dismantling those stores is what all the water weight loss is in the beginning of reducing calories. Each deficit of about 200 calories accounts for only 1 ounce of fat loss IF the sugar stores are already mostly depleted. But that's way more detail than you need for No S.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2